


The Suspicious Traveler

by LaraWrites



Category: The Lord of the Rings (Movies), The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types, The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Battle, Canon Compliant, F/M, Other, mermaid
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-08
Updated: 2014-12-10
Packaged: 2018-02-12 07:12:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 9,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2100336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LaraWrites/pseuds/LaraWrites
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Legolas found himself drawn to the girl, and he found himself watching her involuntarily. She ate very little, and while she gave off a calm and confident demeanor, she jumped at every little sound and was twitchy and on edge at all times. His heart went out to her, she seemed so young and forlorn, though he knew that she had dark magic the likes of which nobody else could dream of."</p><p>This story begins in the journey to Helms Deep, where a seemly common girl arrives with an incredibly uncommon secret. Legolas can't seem to take his eyes off her, and she seems quite impressed by him. Meanwhile Aragorn had troubles of his own, as the war rages on. Not to mention he misses Arwen beyond belief. Will this new stranger change things? Or is Sauron as unstoppable as he seems?<br/>Warning, In this story I do write in Elvish, but the translation is in brackets. Also, I don't mention Frodo or Sam or Gollum or their story at all. The narrative moves from Aragorn to Legolas to Arraläya and once or twice to others too. My facts aren't all set in stone and I may stray slightly from the actual story. Also don't shoot me, I haven't read the books (Which is unusual for me) So this is based on the film. Enjoy!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Aragorn

“Halt,” the voice cried. Aragorn sighed. What on Middle Earth was wrong this time? He rode to the front, Legolas and Gimli following him. The guard was standing in front of a young girl, no older than 15 or 16, with his spear pointed straight at her, and yet she didn’t look afraid. She was too covered in muck for him to see her face, and her hair was pulled up into a dark green mob cab. She was dressed in shabby clothes, a stained white shirt covered by a brown leather waistcoat and a brown suede skirt which was too big for her. She wasn’t wearing any shoes, and she appeared to be drowning under a brown shawl. She was riding an all-black horse which tossed his head and stared at the guards spear in anger.  
“State your name and purpose,” the guard barked.  
“I am Carlotta Dariston, daughter of Charlotte Dariston, a Blacksmith’s wife.” Her voice was high and smooth.  
“And your purpose?” Aragorn asked. The girl looked at him, her eyes a deep violet.  
“What is anybody’s purpose here? I wish to take refuge at Helm’s Deep, same as the rest of you.” The girl paused. “Truth be told I am running from my husband-to-be. I was sold to him for a heavy price, but he is not the nicest of gentlemen” She said, her voice full of bitter.  
“You should go back to him,” The guard advised. The girl turned to him.  
“I think not, Sir.”  
“You may join us,” Aragorn cut in, “But if you have been rightfully sold, if your husband comes to reclaim you we cannot protect you,” The girl twisted her horse to face Aragorn.  
“Husband-to-be,” She corrected. A curl fell from her mobcap and Aragorn noticed it’s colour. It was a rich blue, a turquoise blue. His suspicion’s deepened, and as the party continued he sought her out. Once they were riding side by side, and he was sure they could not be overheard, he turned to her.  
“Who are you really ‘Carlotta Dariston, daughter of Charlotte Dariston’,” He asked. The girl stared straight ahead.  
“What makes you think I am lying?”  
“Your hair, it’s most unusual wouldn’t you agree?” The girl cursed under her breath. She paused for a while, and Aragorn did not push her.  
“No one can know,” she whispered.  
“You have my word,” He agreed. She looked left and right before removing her mob cap and letting lose her mass of lazy turquoise ringlets.  
“I am Arraläya, daughter of Aralanna. Princess Arraläya SymIr, of the Dyṃärri,” Aragorn tried not to stare at her in disbelief.  
“Since when have the Dyṃärri lived out of water,”  
“Dyṃär have often ventured outside of the sea. It takes a simple spell, and you have legs for as long as you need them. Of course, there are some Dyṃär traits that never truly leave us, the hair for example. The eyes. The smell of the ocean, and we can never be away from it for too long. But as far as disguises go, it’s fairly efficient,” Aragorn suddenly remembered something.  
“And what is your real purpose?” The Princess visibly shuddered.  
“Now that I did not lie about,”  
“Why have the Dyṃärri taken to selling their Princess’?” He asked.  
“They had no choice. My father was being punished, for leaving the hidden waters unguarded. The Sea Witch gave him a choice. Sell one of his daughters, or surrender the hidden waters and release it from the undersea kingdom. He has nine daughters you know, he could afford to lose one. I am the eldest, I volunteered myself. Edvark Willingthorn seemed nice enough, and he offered my father a handsome sum for his daughter. It completely lavished my kingdom with untold riches, and it saved the hidden waters, which is I suppose what counts. But I could not stay with him for a day longer. Turns out he wasn’t the nice gentlemen he seemed to be, and I’d like to see anyone try and stay content with being locked in a room for 23 hours a day,” She sounded bitter, but also frightened.  
“It seems you have fallen upon hard times,”  
“So it would seem,” She agreed drily. “Still, I am alive. And for now at least I am free,” Aragorn watched her shoulders droop again. “You won’t reveal me, will you?”   
“There are two with me, an Elf and a Dwarf. I shall confide in them, but they shall tell no one, we shall tell no one,” And he reached out his hand, took hers and kissed her trident ring. “And I swear to you, Princess Arraläya SymIr of the Dyṃärri, I shall protect you from your husband, should he show up,” The princess had tears in her eyes when she looked up at him.  
“Thank you, Aragorn, son of Arathorn,” She replied gracefully. Aragorn just began to wonder how she knew his name when he caught her mouthing ‘Husband-to-be,’


	2. Legolas

”The Dyṃärri?” He stuttered. Of course he had heard of them, everyone had heard of them. The Dyṃärri were sea folk, mermen of sorts, with roots deep in black magic. They were few in numbers, but each one was incredibly powerful. A bit like the wizards , Legolas reflected. Dyṃär lived for several years more than Elves, and Legolas had heard tales that the king, King Krassän SymIr had been alive for nigh on 800 years. Legolas wasn’t sure how old the Princess was, but she was almost definitely older than him.   
“I met a Dyṃär once,” Gimli said. Aragorn looked at Legolas and raised an eyebrow. Gimli caught the look and puffed out his tiny chest.  
“I did! She was a beauty, with a shock of green hair in one long plait down her back, and magnificent tail…” Gimli trailed off and Legolas got the impression that Gimli had admired more than her tail. He and Aragorn rode aside.  
“She had been sold?” He asked  
“Yes,” Aragorn replied, “To a wealthy man, who from what I gather was not the kindliest of people,” Legolas looked over at the girl. She certainly knew how to keep her head down. He wasn’t sure that anyone else in the entire pack had noticed her. But now he saw her hair come loose every now and again, and she would curse quietly and tuck it back in.   
Legolas found himself drawn to the girl, and he found himself watching her involuntarily. She ate very little, and while she gave off a calm and confident demeanour, she jumped at every little sound and was twitchy and on edge at all times. His heart went out to her, she seemed so young and forlorn, though he knew that she had dark magic the likes of which nobody else could dream of. As the days went by, Legolas noticed her slight change in character. Though incredibly subtle, her shoulder’s drooped slightly, she slept more often and she grew paler and paler. Legolas guessed she was missing the sea. He knew that he was now sworn to protect her, as Aragorn and Gimli were, and yet he hadn’t even spoken to her.  
It happened one day when they were riding. The Princess was far ahead, and Legolas was following close behind. The rest of the party was way further back. He noticed her head lolling, and dipping, and almost too late he realised she was falling asleep. He rushed forward on his horse, and got to her just in time to catch her. She woke instantly with a little squeal, and she obviously did not expect to awaken looking into two deep pools of blue.  
“Are you alright?” Legolas asked bluntly. He was rarely anything other than blunt.  
“Thank you,” She muttered, ignoring his question. But she was staring into his eyes, and he seemed unable to keep his eyes off her. He spoke as if he was in a dream.  
“Are you hurt?” He insisted. A neigh from a closely approaching horse made the Princess jump suddenly and she sat bolt upright and slam the mobcap back down on her turquoise hair. She seemed to regain her strength.  
“No thank you, sir. I’m fine,” She responded, pulling herself back on her horse.  
“Please princess, call me Legolas,” He replied, jumping back on his horse himself. The pair of them continued to ride.  
“And you must call me Arraläya,” She insisted. Legolas smiled.  
“I think not Princess. A name as beautiful as that must be preserved,” The Princess was so pale that her blush was incredibly evident. They rode in silence for a while.  
“You must miss the sea,” He spoke. The Princess looked at him, then out beyond the hill.   
“I do,” She replied. “Every day I do. Once I was sold to Edvark, he used to tell me that I’d never see the sea again. He would torture me with it, placing Conch Shells and Corals outside my room.” She shuddered. Legolas felt unmistakably sorry for her. But he had no time to conjure a reply. Something was wrong, he could feel it in the air. The Princess could feel it too. She peered into the distance, then without warning, turned and shot off away from him. Legolas looked, and he saw what she had seen, and saw why she had bolted. Coming directly towards them was a highborn man on a horse, and he looked furious!


	3. Arraläya

She would be lying if she said she was not terrified. She was. She rode as far back as she could, and had just reached King Théoden at the centre of the group, before promptly fainting. She came to almost immediately.  
“He’s here,” She mumbled, “God help me he’s here,” She sat up. “Where is Aragorn?” She asked.  
“Right at the back,” King Théoden replied, “A mile away at least,” Arraläya cursed and got up. When she turned, Legolas was riding up, with Edvark behind her. She walked backwards away from him, gulping down her terror. I must be brave, she thought, and tried to push out the prospect of going back with him. She drew herself up onto her horse and pushed back, trying her best to hide.  
“Where is she?” Edvark called, dismounting and marching towards the king “Where is the Seabitch?” Théoden frowned. Edvark scanned the crowd, and he found her. Of course he found her, her goddamned hair had fallen out again. She pushed it back in, but she was too late.  
“There you are you little whore. Thought you could run? Thought you could get away from slimy old Edvark?” he advanced towards her threateningly. But before he could get to her, Legolas had stepped in between them.  
“Get back,” He warned. Théoden frowned in confusion.  
“Why are you defending her, Legolas? She is but a common girl,” Legolas never took his eyes off Edvark. His voice was so quiet you could barely hear it.  
“She is no common girl,” Edvark raised his eyebrows and looked up at her.  
“You haven’t told them?” he mused. Legolas turned, and Arraläya made eye contact with him. She pulled off her mobcap, and her turquoise curls fell past her waist. She could hear audible gasps, but somehow revealing herself gave her courage. She sat up a little taller.  
“I am Arraläya SymIr, Princess of the Dyṃärri,”   
“And property of Edvark Willingthorn!” Edvark finished, scowling. Arraläya looked down at him, but Legolas answered for her.  
“Not anymore,” Edvark spat on the floor and glared at Legolas.  
“What did you say?” He threatened.  
“Princess Arraläya is under my protection. She is not yours anymore, you have lost the right to her,” Legolas sheathed his sword.  
“I paid for the bitch!”  
“You mistreated her. She will never be yours again, not while I’m alive,”  
“Allow me to fix that then,” Edvark spat, pulling his sword out and lunging at Legolas. Legolas parried his strike and pushed him to the side, pushing his momentum so Edvark lost his balance and very nearly fell over. His anger made him a bad swordsman, Arraläya reflected, but then again not anyone could have beaten Legolas. He blocked and countered and parried and struck. Edvark attacked from the side, and Legolas pushed the sword upwards and countered, but Edvark sidestepped. He stepped sideways and threw a faint at Legolas’ left shoulder, before twisting his sword to the right and catching Legolas on the arm. The Elf hissed, but showed no other signs of pain. They circled each other, until Edvark spun and Legolas stepped back, then swung forward with three sharp strikes. Edvark avoided the first, blocked the second, and let the third slice open his shoulder as he roared in pain. He lifted his sword to strike but he was too slow, Legolas gutted him like a fish. Arraläya watched his insides pour out and stain the grass red. She jumped off the horse and ran to Legolas.  
“Your arm, let me see it,” she insisted. She rolled up the sleeve and looked at his wound. It wasn’t too deep, but it was bleeding everywhere.   
“It doesn’t need sewing,” She consulted, “It just needs cleaning. Let me do it,” She looked up to see he was looking straight into her eyes.  
“Thank you,” She said, with all of her heart, “You have saved me from a fate worse than death,”  
“It was an honour, Princess,” He replied, “I would do it again,”  
“Let’s just focus on your arm for a moment, before we go rushing into any more rescuing?” She joked, before leading him away. She never looked twice at the body at her feet.


	4. Aragorn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “And what of the Princess?” He turned to her. “Will you need to return to water soon?” The princess blinked and pursed her lips.  
> “A small trip to the sea would certainly benefit me, yes. I need to regain my strength,” She was blushing slightly. Aragorn could tell she felt bad for requesting help. He was about to reply, but there was no need. Théoden took the words from his mouth.  
> “The sea is far from here, but there is a salt water lake a few miles South. Would that do?”  
> “Certainly,”

“We had a Dyṃär princess amongst us, and nobody thought to tell me?” Théoden snapped. The Princess stepped forward.  
“It was my fault, my king. I made them swear not to,” Aragorn felt a surge of relief. He didn’t fancy having to take the blame for this one.  
“And why would that be?” Théoden replied. The Princess looked him straight in the eye.  
“Because there are some men who would have me sent back to Edvark,” She shrugged “I didn’t want to risk it,” She stepped back. Théoden continued to pace in front of them.  
“Is there anything else I don’t know?” He said, “Is there a secret witch with us? Perhaps an Oliphant you are hiding somewhere?” None of them replied. Aragorn looked at the others. None of them looked in the least bit guilty. The Princess looked Regal, Legolas looked defiant and Gimli seemed insulted and quite frankly Aragorn himself was just bored. He stepped forward.  
“There is a Dyṃär amongst us, what difference does it make?” he questioned. Théoden stepped up to him.  
“A Dyṃär Princess,”   
“It’s all the same to us! She’s a princess, so what? That doesn’t change anything. We keep her safe, the Dyṃärri become a happy ally. They cannot help us in this war, Dyṃär don’t fight out of water. We still need to get to Helms Deep. We still need to keep moving,” He could sense that Théoden knew this, and he knew he was right. Théoden sighed.   
“And what of the Princess?” He turned to her. “Will you need to return to water soon?” The princess blinked and pursed her lips.  
“A small trip to the sea would certainly benefit me, yes. I need to regain my strength,” She was blushing slightly. Aragorn could tell she felt bad for requesting help. He was about to reply, but there was no need. Théoden took the words from his mouth.  
“The sea is far from here, but there is a salt water lake a few miles South. Would that do?”  
“Certainly,” She nodded.  
“Very well. These three will guard you, and bring you back,” He looked back at Aragorn, “And be quick about it,” He snapped, before leaving the tent. Gimli scoffed.  
“’And be quick about it’ What does he take us for?”  
“A ranger, and Dwarf and an Elf,” The Princess replied, still looking after Théoden, but she turned to the three now. “But he has respect for you all, I can see that,”  
“He has a funny way of showing it,” Gimli stropped.  
“He has named us the personal guard of a Princess,” Aragorn pointed out, “That’s a good way of showing it,” Legolas slung his bow onto his back.   
“We should get moving,” He said, “The salt water lake is a day’s journey there, and a day’s journey back,” Gimli left the tent, muttering something about a Dwarf’s natural speed. The Princess followed him, trying to supress a grin. Aragorn noticed Legolas watching her.  
“I hear you fought well,” He said, Legolas smiled.  
“You seemed to have gotten lost,”  
“You did just fine without me,” Aragorn blinked, “Let me see your arm,” Legolas turned to him and rolled up his sleeve. Aragorn raised his eyebrows.  
“That’s an admirable scar,” he said as Legolas pulled his sleeve back down.  
“Tanya edan ane rhû (That man was evil)” Legolas said.  
“Pen sad, gwil ar rhû ennas tol al maer (Some are, but without evil there would be no good)” Aragorn replied. Legolas smiled at him.  
“Words of wisdom,” He joked. Aragorn laughed, and pushed him out of the tent.  
“Come on, let’s get moving,” He said “We’ve got a long way to go!”


	5. Legolas

The Princess was practically a different person once she no longer had to hide herself. She cleaned up her face and let her hair fly loose. She rode her black horse bareback, and smiled and laughed a lot more often now. Legolas began to notice things about her too. He had heard tales of Dyṃärri beauty, but now he saw that they were true. The girl had rosy cheeks and large violet eyes with thick beautiful eyelashes. She confided in him that she was over 1800 years old, and yet she was practically still a baby in the eyes of the Dyṃärri.   
On the day they were due to set out, the four travellers awoke early. Legolas woke with anticipation; he had never escorted a princess before. The Princess herself had pulled her hair back into a messy fishtail plait, and she was wearing a dark green skirt and waistcoat over a white puffy shirt. She was ready to travel, and Legolas noticed she had a bow slung on her back, made out of no tree he had ever seen before. They set out, Legolas sharing a horse with Gimli while Aragorn and the Princess were riding their own.  
“You ride well for someone who has lived most of their life underwater,” Aragorn commented.   
“A horse is an animal of the sea, Aragorn. And of course I ride; who doesn’t ride?” She laughed. Legolas smiled at her.  
“And you shoot?” He added.  
“Yes,” She answered, “But it’s easier underwater,”  
“But surely the arrows have no effect?” Aragorn pointed out.  
“Maybe, but at least it’s easier to aim,” She joked. Gimli joined in.  
“We Dwarves have never had time for shooting. We prefer to face our enemies, straight on,” Legolas began to snigger. “Now, if it came to it, we Dwarves can shoot just as well as elves!” By now Aragorn was trying hard to hide a smile too and even The Princess was biting her lip and nodding. Gimli continued, oblivious. “And as a matter of a fact, we Dwarves are superior in most ways to Elves,”  
“Except height,” Legolas whispered and that was it. Arraläya, Legolas and Aragorn all burst out laughing.  
“What is it? What is it?” Gimli asked, befuddled. “Did I forget to brush my beard?” And at that they began to laugh even more while Gimli looked around them, completely oblivious.

They had been riding for nearly nine hours and Aragorn said they were close.   
“In about a mile there’s a cave, and the Salt Water Lake is just behind that,” he said. Legolas rode side by side with The Princess as the sun threatened to disappear.   
“You must miss your sisters,” Legolas said. The Princess stared out into the distance.  
“Some of them yes. I miss the Twins, Därea and Fräyla. I miss them. And Golärie. She’s the youngest. I was teaching her to ride before I… left. We used to go out, to abandoned and undiscovered beaches. Even Golärie can morph, into her human legs I mean. Just me and her and the twins. We’d ride all day, and take turns diving into the water. Then as twilight approached and the sun began to set we would light a small fire and tell each other stories.” She turned to look at him, he was staring at her. “I told them a story about an Elf once, you know. A tale of a gallant Elf who decided to forsake his immortality for the love of a human,”  
Legolas raised an eyebrow.  
“And what happened?” He asked.  
“She killed him in his sleep and took his immortality for herself. It’s grim yes, but the miserable endings are the easiest ones to come up with, and it’s easier to get descriptive on too,”  
“Cheery stories,” He muttered. Then he froze. He stiffened; she could sense it too. Aragorn rode over.  
“What is it?” Aragorn asked. Legolas rode to the top of the hill and The Princess screwed up her eyes to hear better. Suddenly, The Princess’ eyes flew open  
“Wargs,” She spoke, and not a millisecond later, Legolas shouted   
“Orcs”


	6. Aragorn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You are hurt,” It was not a question. Aragorn noticed his voice was full of concern. The Princess shook her head.  
> “I’m fine,”  
> “Arraläya, you’re bleeding,” Legolas stated. Aragorn noticed it too; her white shirt was soaked in blood, just by her left hip.   
> “No I’m fine,” She insisted, trying to take a step forward. Legolas stepped up and caught her as she fell.

“Princess,” Aragorn called “I can nearly see the cave. Go back there, you’ll be safe. Wait for us,”  
“I can fight,” The Princess protested. Aragorn drew his sword and turned to her.  
“Princess, I insist. We have been charged with protecting you. Let yourself be protected. Go to the cave, try not to draw attention to yourself,” The Princess nodded and rode off. Aragorn watched Legolas and ignored Gimli’s muttering about beating a thousand Orc’s. Legolas shot down a few Orcs then rode back to them. Aragorn watched the Orcs follow him. Then one of them fell from his Warg, with an arrow in its head. Then another. Aragorn turned and saw the Princess notch another arrow from the hill behind them. Cursing her in every language he knew, he turned back to focus on the Orcs. There were 25 at most, and together Legolas and the Princess had taken down nearly ten. The first approached and Aragorn swung his sword and the Orc fell. He fought more and more, and he heard a Warg scream behind him, and turned to see that one had made it to the Princess, and was fighting with her. Thought she wasn’t doing badly, and was decidedly winning, Aragorn didn’t want to take any chances.  
“Legolas,” He bellowed. Legolas turned and put an arrow in its head in seconds. The Princess seemed to take a hint and swung up onto her horse and rode into the cave. Aragorn frowned, was she riding differently? But he had no time to dwell on it, another Orc was upon him. He slew three more, and four Wargs before he realised they were all dead. Legolas picked up the hunting horn of one.  
“Orcs don’t travel in such few numbers. There were twenty seven of them, riding from the North,”  
“Were they scouting?”  
“No listen Aragorn, they were riding from the North, and there were more of them,” Aragorn’s face fell as it dawned on him.  
“You mean they came from the Hillside path?”  
“Yes,”  
“Which means…” He began, but Gimli cut in.  
“You don’t mean to say that there are Orcs heading for the Horse Lord’s?”  
“Possibly. But we’ve chosen a much quicker path. We’ll arrive before them,”  
“We hope,” Aragorn muttered. “Come on, let’s find the Princess,”  
They rode up the hill to the cave, and left their horses by the entrance next to the Princess’, before walking in. Aragorn was surprised by the interior of the cave. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but this was not it. It was almost completely circular, with three small fires around the outer rims (Aragorn guessed this was The Princess’ doing, Dyṃär knew magic that could conjure fire out of nothing). Then towards the centre of the cave, the ground began to raise in stone, like a tiny stone mountain, so that someone standing in the centre was roughly three foot above someone standing on the outside. And right in the centre was a giant stone basin, filled with water. The Princess was leaning against this as they entered, facing away from them. She turned, and Aragorn opened his mouth the scold her for her foolishness, when he noticed there was something odd about the way she was clutching the basin. And her face was unusually pale.  
“You’re safe,” She greeted with a smile, but it was a weak smile, and Aragorn realised she was in pain. Legolas saw it too, and he stepped forward.  
“You are hurt,” It was not a question. Aragorn noticed his voice was full of concern. The Princess shook her head.  
“I’m fine,”  
“Arraläya, you’re bleeding,” Legolas stated. Aragorn noticed it too; her white shirt was soaked in blood, just by her left hip.   
“No I’m fine,” She insisted, trying to take a step forward. Legolas stepped up and caught her as she fell. He laid her down on the smooth stone floor. Aragorn stepped up to join him, but Gimli muttered something about the horses and left.  
“Let me see,” Legolas insisted, trying to push up her shirt.  
“No, No it’s nothing. I’m fine, really it’s nothing,” She protested. Legolas looked her right in the eye, his voice almost a whisper.  
“Stop,” He commanded. She looked at him, took a deep breath and stopped. He pulled up her shirt slightly and gritted his teeth at the wound. Aragorn drew in breath.  
“You are not fine,” He said, “And that is not nothing,”  
“It’s poisoned,” Legolas stated, examining her blood. The Princess struggled to sit up.  
“Help me up,” She said. Both man and elf made to protest but she held up her hand. “No, help me up,”  
“With all due respect Princess, you are in no position to be moving,” Aragorn said.  
“Which is why I will be needing your help, sir,” Seeing how she was doing it anyway, Aragorn helped her up, and she and Legolas half carried, half dragged her to her horse. The last rays of the sun were just disappearing as they approached the cliff. Under them was the gargantuan Salt water Lake, which may as well have been the Sea, Aragorn reflected. Legolas rode with the Princess and Gimli got his own horse for once. Legolas had to wrap his arms around her tightly to keep her from falling off their horse, and Aragorn saw her face was a picture of pain. They rode as fast as they could, until they were at the edge of the cliff. Aragorn peered over.  
“I don’t think you’re in any position to climb down, Princess,”  
“Oh that’s okay,” She called from behind him and he heard Legolas cough and Gimli sounded flustered. When he turned, The Princess was stripping off. His eyes widened and he raised his eyebrows, but before he could respond she leapt past him, totally naked, and dived into the water with a graceful swallow dive. Injured or not, it was the best dive Aragorn had ever seen. Just as she began to fall, Aragorn watched in amazement as the skin just under her hips turned on itself, and turned to scale. From the belly button down, Aragorn watched her tail form, and it was absolutely fascinating, right down to the nearly transparent end, where her tail forked and flicked in the last ray of sunlight. Aragorn watched this ray flicker down her body and highlight the entirety of her turquoise tail, clam shell bra and hair before disappearing behind a hill, just as the Princess entered the water


	7. Arraläya

Arraläya broke the surface with a grin on her face. She laughed heartily at the three men far above her.  
“You should see your faces,” She called up, “Because you look hilarious!” and she turned and jumped back into the water. She swam for a while, just enjoying the sensation of being home again. She broke the surface with a graceful hairflick and saw the three still standing there, gawping.  
“Well?” She asked “What are you waiting for? An invitation?” and she swam backwards and watched them. Legolas turned to Gimli.  
“Afraid of heights?” He asked, grinning as he took off his bow, cloak and tunic and jumped in wearing his shirt and trousers.  
“Afraid?” Gimli stuttered, “Preposterous! Ridiculous! Downright impertinence! Why I-“ he lost his footing and slipped of the edge of the cliff, and Aragorn, Legolas and Arraläya laughed as he shouted in panic. Aragorn was the last to dive in, and he needed a lot of persuading. Arraläya raced Legolas across the water, and while he was a good swimmer he never stood a chance against a princess of the sea. He lost miserably. She felt regenerated and free, it had been months since she had last been at home, and she had truly missed it. Night was just upon them when Aragorn insisted that they get out and get dry and get some rest.   
“Hang on, just a second,” Arraläya mumbled, before submerging herself in water. When she came back up, a fish was watching her intently.  
“Sä nae quäh (Tell the king) ” she spoke, and the sea creature turned and dived off into the ocean.  
“What was that?” Aragorn asked her. She watched the fish go.  
“I sent word to my father, he’ll be sick with worry,” She paused “Probably,” Then she turned to them all and with a hearty smile, let the way to the lakeside. They dragged themselves out of the lake, and while the men wrung out their soaking wet clothes Arraläya transformed her tail back into legs. She closed her eyes and held her hands over her tail, and muttered in ancient Dûmärr.  
“Kronû doirä, ser shnärroia,” She spoke. She looked up and saw Legolas watching her. She turned back to her tail as each individual scale turned over and returned to skin. She wiggled her toes and smiled. Legolas returned her dress to her and she put it on while he turned his back. Once she was dressed again he turned back to her.  
“Was that a spell?” he asked her. She turned to him.  
“The Dyṃärri don’t use spells, our magic works with commands.” She told him. He nodded.  
“Was that ancient Dûmärr?” he asked.  
“Yes,” She replied.  
“What did that mean?”  
“’Legs return, and transform’,” She said. She realised what they were all doing. “Oh, stop! I can dry those with magic,” They handed her their clothes and she bundled them together and closed her eyes once more.  
“Käen, däxon,” She whispered. The clothes dried instantly. Arraläya conjured up a fire around the centre of a nearby cave and Gimli cooked them a rabbit he had proudly caught earlier (By putting an axe across his head, Arraläya had heard the story a thousand times). Legolas sat with Arraläya.  
“I never learnt ancient Dûmärr,” He said. She watched the flames flicker in his eyes.  
“Not many people do, other than the Dyṃärri, of course. We tend to keep ourselves to ourselves,” She replied. He glanced at her.  
“Teach me?” He asked quietly. Arraläya shifted.  
“Repeat after me,” She commanded.  
“Ärräquäh,”  
“Ärräquäh,”  
“Rhärr,”  
“Rhärr,”  
“Säkkû,”  
“Säkkû,” She grinned suspiciously.  
“There,” She smiled.  
“Ärräquäh rhärr säkkû. What does that mean?” He asked her.  
“’The Princess has a better aim,” He pushed her playfully as she laughed. The wind swept through the cave and Arraläya shivered as the cold ran through her.  
“I’m cold,” She whispered.   
“Here,” Legolas replied, shuffling closer and wrapping a blanket around them. Arraläya rested her head on his shoulders as a warmth filled her heart and warmed her entire body. She sat with him, as they ate and spoke and finally, went to sleep.


	8. Legolas

Legolas awoke suddenly. He sat up almost instantly. The Princess was gone. He forced himself not to panic, her bag was still here, and so was her horse. He couldn’t fathom the time, but it was still dark. Could the Princess have gone for a late night swim? It was, of course, quite possible. He decided to check before he woke up Aragorn, so he crept out of the cave and sprinted down to the sea. And then he could see her, sitting on some rocks not so far down, her silky coral hair being whipped around by the wind. He walked down to her, slower now. As he approached her, he could hear she was singing. He stopped a few paces behind her and listened to her song. It was in ancient Dûmärr.  
“Nae käen froi,  
Oh nae käen froi  
Ser marr shärû hûrräl  
Nae froi na shû säan  
Marr afärn doirä  
Nae akaar na shû säan  
Märi na kûrän  
Nae käen na krûnäwr,  
Nae käen oir näsh,” She finished. Legolas caught his breath. Her voice was exquisite, soft and powerful. She looked exceptionally beautiful somehow. Being near the sea had enhanced her.  
“That song is beautiful,” He said quietly. The Princess flinched and turned suddenly, and Legolas saw pure fear in her eyes. This is what that bastard Edvark had done to her.  
“Thank you,” She said, regaining herself. Legolas moved and sat next to her, so close that he could feel her body warmth. The atmosphere was static.  
“I thought Aragorn would want to leave at the crack of dawn, I figured I should get as much time with the water as I can,” She said.   
“What was the song about?” Legolas asked her.  
“One of the four fables of my people. This one is Love. A Dyṃär princess falls in love with man, and he loves her back dearly. The only problem is that she will live for thousands of years, and every year he grows older. The two cannot bear to be apart, so she performs an ancient ritual to turn herself into a woman eternally. She forsakes her heritage and legacy for him, and he buys her a cottage by the sea. The two get married, and they have many children and live happily. But the sea calls to her. She pines for it, the call is too strong, the pain too much to bear. She has to return. He begs, he pleads but it makes no difference. She must return. It breaks both their hearts, and the man takes his life rather than to live without her. As for her, she cannot breathe underwater now that she is human. She drowns in the sea. They are together at last in death.” She said. She turned to Legolas slowly, and his heart began to thump in his chest as he stared at her beautiful face.  
“She was a fool. You can never run from the sea,” She said, her voice close to a whisper as she stared at his shirt. Legolas looked straight into her eyes with his piercing blue Elf eyes, he loved how she bit her lip when she was nervous.  
“Legolas I- I, I would- I mean- If that were- I..” He pulled her chin, pulled her face up to his until she was staring directly back into his eyes. Violet drowned in blue, and she fell silent.  
“I know,” He said quietly, and then he leaned forward and kissed her softly. She kissed him back, and reached up to run her hands through his hair. Their hearts beat as one, a thumping blur as they kissed. It was more than Legolas could ever had imagined, it was overwhelming, it was indescribable. He kissed her, and everything melted away, until it was just the two of them, two minds, two mouths, one heart. He pulled away first, staring deep into her eyes and subconsciously paying attention to the rise and fall of her chest.   
“The sea cannot keep me from you,” She said, her voice filled with longing. He caressed her face delicately.   
“Nothing can keep me from you,” He replied. He planted a kiss on her forehead and smiled. “Now, go and swim Little Fish, and I shall guard you, like I’m supposed to be doing,” He scolded.  
“Shut up Elf-Boy,” She smiled, “You’re just jealous because I beat you in a race,”  
He pushed her into the water and laughed as she splashed him with her tail.


	9. Aragorn

“We should split up,” She said, and the second she said it Aragorn realised it was true.  
“Aye,” He agreed, “Legolas, you take the Princess back to the camp the faster way, ride all day long as fast as the horse will carry you,” He ordered. Legolas frowned slightly.  
“We get only one horse? Gimli is smaller,”  
“We need only one horse,” The Princess observed, all of them ignoring Gimli’s outrage, “Änaerä can run faster than any horse of men, and she will carry our weight with ease,” She turned to Aragorn, “What will you do?” He paused to consider, but she knew as well as he did that the answer was clear.  
“Gimli and I will follow the other Orcs, catch them off guard from behind.” He swung himself up onto his horse, and the Princess mounted hers. The two had a moment alone while Legolas helped Gimli with his own mare.  
“Good luck,” She spoke quietly. “Théoden fled to Helm’s Deep, and this was folly, but you will keep him from further bad decisions, I can feel it,” She straightened up slightly, “Your story is a complicated one, Aragorn son of Arathorn, but it stretches further than my eyes can see,” She is very wise, Aragorn thought, staring into her deep violet eyes. She smiled gently.  
“Should you ever find yourself in need of help, make your way to any water. River lake or sea, I am the heir to the Waterthrone, and I will help you in any way I can. Make your way to the water, and I shall help,” Aragorn found himself lost for words. He caught himself as Gimli trotted up to him.  
“My sword is yours, Princess Arraläya, and I shall always do what I can to help you,” Legolas swung gracefully onto the Princess’ horse behind her.  
“May your courage never fail you,” She farewelled.  
“Meet you on the other side,” Legolas said, his eyes twinkling.  
“Take care, my friend,” Aragorn said.  
“Leave some Orcs for me!” Gimli bellowed. Legolas laughed, and he and the Princess began to ride away. Aragorn and Gimli watched them go, and they were nearly out of earshot when Legolas turned and shouted back “Race you!”  
Gimli sputtered with rage and Aragorn laughed as the horse Änaerä sped up to a fast gallop across the dry field.   
Gimli and himself set off up the hill at a pacey canter, following the trail of the Orcs, which was not hard to keep. Gimli spoke of the Dwarf forges under the mountain, but Aragorn’s mind was elsewhere. He thought of Legolas and the Princess. He’s in love, he thought to himself, and without warning Arwen flashed before his eyes. The vision of her made his heart ache. He knew he would probably never see her again, and it was the price he had paid for going with Frodo. Perhaps he should’ve run with her, away from everyone and everything. He was a ranger, she was an Elf, they could have survived. They would have survived. No, they would have lived. But he could not do that to her. He loved her too much to let her forsake immortality. Immortality is the brightest of gifts, and the cruellest of curses, he had once heard lord Elrond speak. He saw now how true that was. He missed Arwen with all of his heart, but by now she was on her way to the Great Sea, and once beyond that she would be unreachable. He tried to refocus. He owed it to her, at least, to guard the Princess, to fight, to live the life she would be denied had she chosen him. Had she chosen him. Had she chosen him? Perhaps she had, by ‘setting him free’ if you could call it that. And yet he yearned for her. He would not allow her to forsake her immortality for him, and he couldn’t ask her to live with him, and suffer when he was gone. The best thing to do was to let her go. Let her go.


	10. Legolas

They rode. And rode and rode. Her horse, Änaerä galloped at speeds he didn’t think possible, especially considering their combined weight. They covered at lot of ground, and Legolas reasoned they would be there in no time. He hugged her around her waist, and she stroked the horse’s mane and whispered in her ears. She looked magical. Arraläya, not the horse.  
“You said your people have four fables,”  
“We do,” She affirmed, her voice dancing on the swift winds. “Four fables, Four songs, Four Realms,” They rode on.  
“What was the one you spoke earlier?” He asked, talking almost directly into her ears.  
“Love. The four are Love, Greed, Kin and Honour,” she said, “Each as brutally honest as the last, and each with its own song too,”  
“You know them all?” he asked and she nodded.  
“A Princess and momentary heir should know such things,”  
“Tell me another?” He asked. She turned to look at him.  
“Alright then. How about ‘Greed’?” She turned back and whispered something to the horse, who slowed. Legolas did not complain. They had been riding for nearly half the day, and they would reach the others soon.  
“There was once a Dyṃär who started as nothing. He was lowborn -not that there are many lowborn Dyṃär- and his family were starving. He went out, in search of food, and instead came across a Sea Witch, who was trapped in a net. The Sea Witch offered him gold beyond his wildest dreams, if only he set her free. He did so, and the Sea Witch gave him a goblet, and told him that the goblet would grant his wishes, and gave him a warning. He said if ever the man should knock the goblet, it would turn on him. So the man returned home, and wished for food, and lo and behold, food appeared inside the goblet. Stunned by his newly acclaimed power, the man wished for gold aplenty, and it poured out of the goblet. Soon the man became rich and fat, and contented. He asked the goblet for a beautiful wife, and the very next day, a lady appeared at his doorstep. He was happy enough, but now the goblet had turned his will into greed, and he wanted more. He wished to be a lord, and the wish was granted. He wished to have a crown, and the wish was granted. Wish after wish, and quite soon the man had wished for another wishing goblet, as a gift to his beautiful wife. And another, and another, and in his flurry and haste he quite forget which was the original goblet, until he threw a handful of goblets at his son. The magic goblet began to glow, and then with a pop it became two goblets, which in turn both began to glow. Then with another pop both became two. Four became eight, and eight became sixteen, and sixteen became thirty two, and each goblet split and split until the room was full of them, and still growing. The villagers heard the news and ransacked the palace in search for a goblet, and still they multiplied. The man had become blinded with greed, and he swum in his own pool of broken wishes.” She paused “At least in that one the Sea doesn’t win, it annoys me when the sea wins,” There was another long pause between them until Legolas spoke again.  
“Are the fables true?” He asked. She shrugged, “Some will claim so, and some claim they are nothing but stories. Some have proof, some do not. It all depends on how open minded you are really,”  
“You are a very good storyteller,”  
“You are a very boring escort,”  
“Escort?” He smiled, amused.  
“Guard then,” And he opened his mouth to make a witty comment, when the party of villagers came into view, led by Théoden. Änaerä sped up considerably, but at that moment both Legolas and Arraläya tensed as their instincts worked. They turned back and shouted in unison.  
“Orcs!”


	11. Arraläya

He jumped off Änaerä with considerable grace and shouted “Be careful, Princess,” Before he began shooting. Änaerä stopped before she reached the Orcs and Arraläya took out her bow and drew an arrow. She shot three Orcs down, and two Wargs before they were nearly upon her. Behind her, Legolas continued to shoot. Arraläya fell back and rode backwards, shooting the orcs behind her. Théoden and the others reached the front line, so she turned and rode on behind them. Legolas had acquired his own horse and was still shooting. Arraläya drew another arrow and took aim. She shot an Orc who was coming towards her. She shot a Warg that was attacking Théoden. She shot another Orc who had just killed Legolas’ horse. Then she rode into the battle, drawing her sword and raising it above her head. There were few who could beat the Dyṃärri in hand to hand combat, and Arraläya had always prided herself on her swordsmanship. However, the Orcs greatly outnumbered them.   
Like a miracle, Aragorn and Gimli came up behind the Orcs with a shout and killed three from behind. Arraläya lost track of them as another Orc advanced upon her. She shot it’s Warg twice before the beast finally went down, and even then it didn’t stop the Orc. Weaponless, he pulled aimlessly at her leg and she overbalanced. Änaerä came down on top of her with a sickening crunch, and she cried out as her horse’s weight fell fully onto her leg. The Orc pressed a foot on the horse, laughing as she screamed in agony. He stopped laughing when Legolas put an arrow through its head. Legolas was advancing towards her, but when she looked behind him she could see Aragorn fighting a losing battle with a violent Warg.  
“I’m fine! To Aragorn! Go! Go!” She screamed at him, ignoring the pain in her leg. She whispered to Änaerä ‘Kä! Kä!’ (Up! Up!) and the horse stumbled to its feet, and Arraläya cred out in pain once more. She looked down at her leg, which was bent at an odd angle and had a bone sticking out from the side. It was agony to look at, and she gritted her teeth and looked away. But there was no time for squeamishness; another Warg was coming towards her. She fumbled for her dagger, and pulled it out just as the thing pounced. She pushed the knife into its jaw, receiving a tooth in her forearm. She pulled it out with a hiss, but at least it distracted her from her broken leg, and the blood that was dripping off the dead Warg straight onto her. She pocketed the Warg’s tooth, and looked about her. The battle had been won, she could see. A soldier with a slight head wound helped her up, but she found she couldn’t put any weight on the leg at all. She got him to help her up onto Änaerä, but her leg hung uselessly in the saddle and every movement caused her intense pain. She closed her eyes and mumbled ‘akaar däxon’ and the pain lessened, and almost disappeared. She sighed with relief and moved her attention to her forearm, which was oozing with blood, though she wasn’t sure how much of it was hers. It would need stitches, but it could certainly wait. She leaned over in the saddle to see if her horse was wounded, but she was just a bit shaken. Arraläya patted her on the side and mumbled soothing words into her ear. Änaerä was tough, she would pull through.  
When she looked up Legolas was walking towards her, and she sensed immediately that something was wrong. When he reached her, she could see that he was forcing back tears. A cold fear grew inside her, and she looked up at the battlefield. She could see Théoden, and Gimli. She looked harder; she even looked at the corpses that littered the field.  
“Where’s Aragorn?” She asked, her voice urgent. Legolas looked at the floor. Her eyes grew wide and she shook her head in despair.  
“No! No! Oh no!” She cried  
“I’m sorry Princess,” Legolas whispered “Aragorn’s dead,”


	12. Legolas

He rode on Änaerä with Arraläya. Partly so he could hold her and she could happily lose consciousness, and partly so that he could grieve in peace. Quite honestly, he felt empty, like a part of him was missing. Aragorn had been with him since they made the fellowship, and he and Aragorn and Gimli had formed a bond. Gimli himself had gone incredibly quiet. When they reached Helms Deep, he was relieved to see at least the peasants had arrived safely. Éowyn greeted them with a saddened smile, and Legolas felt his heart grow heavier as he watched her search the crowd for Aragorn. He drew up the horse next to her, and she gasped at the sight of Arraläya’s torn up leg. The Princess’s leg did look horrific, as it hung limply in the saddle. Her calf had been broken so badly that you could see the bone coming through her skin, and she had been dripping blood all the way there. Éowyn looked up at Legolas, and he sighed and shook his head. Her face paled and froze and Legolas was worried that she might cry, because he was in no mood to comfort anyone. But instead she turned on heel and marched out briskly. Legolas, however, decided to devote his attention to the Princess. He took Änaerä as far inside as she could go, before pulling the Princess down from the saddle. She stirred, but did not wake, which was probably a good thing. He carried her in his arms, to a small room in a tower, while Gimli went off to fetch a healer. A physician appeared a few minutes after Legolas had set her down in the bed. He then found a chair in the corner, and watched the healer give her a concoction to make her sleep, then fix the bone in her calf and strap it up neatly. Then he cleaned the wound on her forearm, and brought out a needle and threaded it. He sewed up her arm deftly, and tied it at the end. Once he had finished, he addressed Legolas.  
“She needs to drink his twice a day.” He signalled to the bottle on the small oaken table “Once in the morning as soon as she wakes, and once in the evening before she sleeps,” Legolas nodded and he continued.  
“She should not be putting any weight on that leg for near a month, more if she can manage it,”  
“She’ll never manage it. She’ll struggle with a month,” Legolas replied. The healer frowned, and left with a short salute. Legolas moved closer to the bed and stroked the Princess’ hand. It was cool, and pale.   
He stayed by the Princess for ages, hours maybe a day, he wasn’t sure. Gimli came up twice with food for Legolas and Théoden came up once to offer his condolences and check on the Princess. He never saw Éowyn. He was still sitting by her bed when she stirred suddenly. He looked up, and she was still again. But suddenly her eyes flew open.  
“He’s not dead,”


	13. Arraläya

She closed her eyes against the oncoming wave of dizziness, but once it had past she looked straight up at Legolas again.  
“He’s not dead,” She repeated. “Aragorn, he’s not dead,”  
“How do you know?” Legolas asked her. She realised he didn’t want to believe her, to raise his hopes.  
“I told him that if he ever needed help, to make his water to any realm of water, and that I would save him. When he fell over the edge of that cliff, he fell straight into a stream. My promise healed him. He is on his way to us now,” She sat up and frowned with concern. Something was not right.  
“I should not have that power,” She mumbled. “Only the Monarch of Water should have that power. Something must be wrong with my father, I can feel it,” She threw off the blankets and made to stand up, saying “I must go to him,” She fell with a cry of pain into Legolas’ arms as short sharp spikes of agony ran through her broken leg and made her shiver. She had forgotten about her leg. He laid her back down on the bed, and she winced when her leg hit the soft mattress.  
“You’re not going anywhere,” He told her. “Healer’s orders. You’re not to put any weight on that leg for a month,” She groaned.  
“A month? I cannot sit it a bed for a month! My father might be dying, and besides I have no patience,” She was stropping now. Legolas smiled at her pout.  
“I am to make sure you do as you are told,” He said, his blue eyes shining. “Never fear. The Healer says you may have a cart after a few weeks,” She scowled at him, but she was distracted by those sharp pools of blue. Suddenly she remembered Aragorn, and felt guilty about forgetting him.   
“Aragorn,” She told Legolas, who sat up suddenly.  
“I will down and meet him,” He decided, moving to the door. Arraläya sat up and shifted.  
“I’ll come too!” She said eagerly, and he turned at the door.  
“If you try, you’ll have me to answer to,” He warned, leaving the room. She listened to his footsteps echo down the stairs. That wouldn’t be so bad, She thought to herself.  
“But I want to see Aragorn!” She called out, but it was no use. He was either out of earshot, or ignoring her.  
It didn’t matter so much, Aragorn came to see her. When he first entered her room, he went down on one knee, took her hand and thanked her for saving his life.   
“It was my honour,” Arraläya replied. Legolas was in the room with them. Legolas barely ever left her room. He ate there, slept there, he was almost constantly by her side. Aragorn asked to see her leg.  
“By all means,” She replied. When he pulled back the covers he drew in breath, and Arraläya didn’t blame him. The bandages were soaked in blood, and you could still see her bone slightly, despite the bandages and straps on her legs. The Healer told her that he had never seen a worse break. It would take months to fix, and he warned her that it would probably never fully heal. Arraläya was helping of course, with every bit of magic she could, but even then, she had been lucky to keep her leg.  
“How did this come about?” Aragorn asked her. She saw Legolas staring at her wound too.  
“Änaerä fell onto my leg, and a bloody Orc pushed her down onto me,” She hadn’t even bothered mentioning the Warg tooth wound. The Healer had sewn up her arm for her, and it was healing steadily. She hadn’t even told Legolas about it. Aragorn noticed it though.  
“And this?” He asked, picking up her forearm and drawing back her sleeve to inspect it.  
“A Warg’s little gift to me. I gave him my knife in return,” She had kept the tooth as a keepsake, under her bed. Aragorn left her wound alone, and she asked him about what had happened to him in the fight. He was happy to tell her all that he could remember, and when he got to waking up after the river he blushed slightly, and mumbled something about visions, and Arraläya used her instincts along with a bit of Ancient Dûmärr skills to decipher this. He was thinking of Arwen, She thought. She is what pulled him through. Arraläya had to hide a blush herself then, thinking of how it had been Legolas’ voice that had woken her from her dreaming. When Aragorn mentioned the Orc and Uruk-Hai army, she frowned.  
“Will there be war?” She asked. Legolas replied.  
“Almost certainly,” She sat up a little.  
“I want to fight,” She decided. Legolas smiled.  
“You cannot stand Princess, Let alone fight,” She blew him off with a wave of her hand.  
“I can wield a bow and arrow as good as Gimli claims he can. I will fight from the battlements. You will be needing all the men you can get,” It was a good persuasion. Aragorn sat at the edge of her bed.  
“Men, not Dyṃärri Princess’. We will do what we can without you, Princess. You must stay here where you are safe,”  
“Safe?” She spluttered “How safe can I be? If we should fall do you think that the staircase will save me? I will fight with the rest of you, and If need be I will die with the rest of you, and that’s all there is to it,” And she had made up her mind. Nobody could change it.

**Author's Note:**

> The Dyṃärri  
> The Dyṃärri are sea creatures that very much resemble mermen. They have a human’s upper body, down just past their belly button, where instead of legs they have long beautiful and scaled tails. Dyṃär are very few in numbers, there are about 300 at most where this story is set, but each one is very powerful, and can also use dark magic. They have incredible powers, which range from transforming their tails into legs, to bring people back from the dead. Dyṃär have usually long and bright coloured hair, which is silky and tousled out of water. No two Dyṃär have the same colour hair, and the more important they are the brighter their hair is. Dyṃär can last for six months out of water before they die, but they become very weak after half of that time. Dyṃär are known for their sense of hearing and also their skill with a sword. Not many can match it. Dyṃär have also got an excellent sense of time. From examining the surroundings they could tell you what day it is, what time and even what season. They are more awake at night, and know nearly every star in the sky. Dyṃär can live for up to 2000 years, though life expectancy is from 1500-1800.  
> The Dyṃärri have had only one blood line in their entire history, and they are the SymIr’s. The first know king was Härgûn SymIr, who lived for 1360 years, and had four sons and six daughters. His eldest son, Marägus SymIr inherited the throne after his father’s death, and was known as Marägus the Red on account of him butchering several schools of fish. Marägus became king when he was 984 years old, and abdicated the throne when he was 1550. He had seven sons, and died at the surprising age of 1955. His son, Härgûn the second, known as Härgûn the weak died at 230, and the throne passed to the second eldest son, DänmIr. DänmIr the warrior fought many battles against old sea devils, and died in battle at the age of 643, with no children. The throne passed to his younger brother, Kärna. He was known as Kärna Legs, as he wanted to be human. Kärna’s fierce passion drove him insane, and he was forced to abdicate at 1006. The next younger brother was already dead, so the throne passed to the fifth brother, Gäaar. Gäaar was a wise and respected ruler, and ruled to his 2038th year. He had twelve daughters. He outlived six of his daughters, and since the Dyṃärri throne has no gender restrictions, his middle child, Märagûn, won the throne. Her husband took her name, Härgûn SymIr, known as Härgûn the peaceful who worked for a thousand years at gaining peace between the Dyṃärri and the sea devils, before he died on his 1840th birthday, leaving the eldest of his eight sons and nine daughters to destroy his work. Wräthnär the wrecker waged war after war, and nearly destroyed his kingdom, before he was poisoned by his only son, Neagär, when he was 1443. Neagär rebuilt the kingdom, and was the finest ruler ever known, some say. He had three sons and four daughters, including his eldest Krassän, Arraläya’s father. Neagär died at 1323, and Krassän rules to this day. He has nine daughters, and no sons yet. He rules with his wife, Aralanna. The Dyṃärri royal symbol is a trident, hence Arraläya’s trident ring. The ring belongs to the heir, and the actual Trident belongs to the monarch. The ruler of the undersea kingdom rides to battle on a Kraken, which can travel in or out of water.  
> All Dyṃär speak at least two languages, the common tongue and Dûmärr. Dûmärr is one of the most ancient languages, and is spoken by very few. Most educated Dyṃär, such as Arraläya, can also speak Elvish (Both Sindarin and Quenya), Entish, Black Speech, Some Khuzdul (Dwarvish), Hobbitish and even some Valarin.  
> The Dyṃärri is an enteirly fictional race I constructed myself


End file.
